Early Reading and Phonics
Celebrating Outstanding Phonics Success in 2026
93% Phonics Screening Success for 2026 – Well Above National Average
We are incredibly proud to celebrate another year of outstanding achievement in phonics, with 93% of our Year 1 pupils meeting the expected standard in the 2026 Phonics Screening Check.
This exceptional result places our school well above the national average and reflects the dedication of our children, staff and families in developing strong early reading skills.
What makes this achievement even more special is that it continues a pattern of sustained excellence. For the last four years, our pupils have consistently achieved high phonics screening outcomes, demonstrating the strength of our phonics teaching and our commitment to ensuring every child becomes a confident and enthusiastic reader.
Through engaging teaching, targeted support and a love of reading embedded throughout the school, our children develop the essential foundations they need for future learning and success.
93% in 2026 is a fantastic achievement and one that reflects our school's ambition for every child to thrive. We look forward to building on this success in the years ahead.
"Learning to read is the gateway to learning, and we are delighted that our pupils continue to achieve such impressive outcomes year after year."
At Seaton, we know that reading is the key to being able to access the full breadth of the wider curriculum and is a fundamental life skill that opens doors to the future.
Read Write Inc – Our Phonics Scheme
The Government strongly recommend the use of synthetic phonics when teaching early literacy skills to children. Synthetic phonics is simply the ability to convert a letter or letter group into sounds that are then blended together into a word.
Phonics - Ruth Miskin Literacy
As a school, we are determined that all children will learn to read fluently regardless of their background, needs or abilities. We want our children to move from learning to read, to reading to learn and to grow to love reading a wide range of literature.
We use the Read Write Inc (RWI) programme to get children off to a flying start with their English. RWI is a method of learning based upon letter sounds and phonics, and we use it to aid children in their reading and writing. All staff abd families have access to personal learning pathways via the RWI portal and virtual classrooms which supports each indivisual child to make progress based on their regular assessments.
Reading opens the door to learning. A child who reads a lot will become a good reader. A good reader will be able to read more challenging material. A child who can read more challenging material is a child who will learn. The more a child learns, the more he or she will want to find out.
The children are assessed regularly and grouped according to their ability. All children at Seaton are taught Phonics by a RWI trained teacher or teaching assistant.